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The desert called so we pulled out the long boats and headed down the Baja way, first loading enough boats to take full advantage of both coasts, then cramming the truck full of every camping comfort it would take, right down to a hand-cranked margarita blender.

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Sean Morley knows a few things about going fast. He honed his forward stroke technique as a flatwater sprint racer on the British junior national team, but has made his biggest mark traveling far and fast in challenging conditions. He’s held speed records for crossing the Irish Sea, circumnavigating Vancouver Island, and paddling 4,500 miles around Great Britain and Ireland, solo.

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Last October I spent five days engulfed in the beauty of the Adirondack Mountains, paddling the lakes of the Saint Regis Canoe Area with a couple good friends. This was our first overnight paddling experience in the area; I came away with a few bits of knowledge to pass on to the next paddlers planning this perfect fall escape.

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The Maine Island Trail Association (MITA), which oversees a 375-mile waterway for small boaters from the New Hampshire border to Canada, just got a shot in the arm from L.L. Bean. The venerable outdoor gear and apparel maker, founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, recently gave MITA and its Wild Islands Campaign a $100,000 grant to support its efforts to protect the trail system. It’s far from the first funds the company has awarded to the association. In 1987, L.L.Bean issued a grant to create the association, in partnership with the Maine Department of Conservation and the Island Institute. It was from this that both MITA and the Maine Island Trail — America’s first recreational water trail, an establishment founded on the notion that visitors could be entrusted with the islands’ care — were born. “For decades, L.L.Bean and the Maine Island Trail Association have shared the common goal of being good stewards of the environment,” says L.L.Bean chairman Shawn Gorman. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to ensure that we all have clean, pristine and accessible places to recreate in the outdoors. The Maine Island Trail Association is to be commended for their efforts to make the great outdoors even

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A month into their ambitious nine-month, 5,200-mile route, the six-man Rediscover North America crew highlights the first 27 days paddling up the Atchafalaya River, and crossing over to begin the long slog up the mighty Mississippi.

ICF Votes to Add Women’s Canoe to Tokyo Olympics

Female C-1 sprint and slalom athletes could compete in 2020

After fighting for decades to be included in the Olympics as an official sport, women C-1 paddlers are one step closer to getting their wish. On Friday, Nov. 15, the International Canoe Federation Board of Directors voted to support the inclusion of C-1 women slalom and C-1 women 200 meter sprint in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and to guarantee complete gender equity across both the Olympic disciplines by the 2024 Olympic Games.

The ICF is the world governing body for international canoe and kayak racing. The International Olympic Committee has the final say in changes to the Olympic program, but typically follows the lead of lead of international federations such as the ICF, with one important caveat: The IOC rarely allows sports to add events or increase the number of athletes competing. That means the addition of women’s C-1 events will likely come at the cost of some men’s canoe and kayak events.

“This is exceptionally positive for our sport and clarifies our position to ensure equity at every level of competition,” said José Perurena, ICF President and IOC Member.

This move has been a long time coming. With gender equity a top priority in the Olympic movement, Canadian canoeing bronze medalist Thomas Hall warned in August that canoeing risked being excluded from the Olympics altogether if the ICF did not step up to include women.

“Paddling, which includes both sprint and slalom, was shortlisted for loss of Olympic core-sport status by the International Olympic Committee,” said Hall in an essay he wrote for CanoeKayak.com.“Removal of core status means that a sport that was once guaranteed a spot in the Olympics now has to fight to be included in future events.”

“Women’s C1 in both Sprint and Slalom has improved dramatically over the last couple of years and the proposal to include it in the Olympic program will further support its future development,” said Perurena